Veteran screenwriter and lyricist Javed Akhtar addressed the raging topic of whether Pakistani artists should be allowed to work in India, in wake of the ghastly terror attack in Pahalgam that claimed 26 lives. Akhtar declined the proposal and stated that the professional exchange has always been a "one way traffic" when it came to the entertainment industries of both the countries.
Explaining his stance, he said that while India has always gracefully hosted Pakistani artists and their careers have flourished in the country, the same cannot be said for Indian artists in Pakistan. "There are two answers, both of them are equally logical. It has been a one way traffic, Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, Ghulam Ali, Noor Jahan came to India, we gave them a great reception... Faiz Ahmad Faiz, who is a poet of subcontinent, he was living in Pakistan, when he came to India during the Atal Bihari Vajpayee regime, he was treated like a state head, the kind of respect given by the government. I am afraid, this has never been reciprocated," he stated.
He went on to say, "I have no complains with the people of Pakistan. Big poets of Pakistan has written for the songs of Lata Mangeshkar. She was hands down most popular artist in India and Pakistan in the 60's and 70's, but why there was not a single performance of Lata Mangeshkar in Pakistan? I won't complain to people of Pakistan, she was loved, but there was some blockage, the blockage was system, which I don't understand. This is one-way traffic."
He further continued, "The second, if equally valid, if we block Pakistani artists, who are we pleasing in Pakistan? The Army and the fundamentalist, this is what they want? They want distance, it suits them. Both these questions are equally valid. At this moment, I would say no."
Post the terror attack in Pahalgam, Pakistani actor Fawad Khan and Bollywood actress Vaani Kapoor's upcoming film Abir Gulaal was banned in India. Not just that, but film bodies also warned Indian artists from collaborating with their Pakistani counterparts, threatening permanent boycott.
